Small, small groups

Yesterday I was a part of two small groups, both of them smaller than I expected. I had spent quite a bit of time late Friday afternoon and Sunday morning preparing to teach our men's class. When I arrived in the class ready to lead these men in a discussion about how to tend to our hearts, I found only five of them there. Rather than teaching the class, I decided to hold of until next week and instead circle up in our small group for an extended prayer time and then giving them a preview of next week's class. It turned out to be a rich time of sharing, encouragement and prayer.

Later that day I got our house ready to host our small group. Early in the day, God blessed me with a plan for how to direct the group for that evening. I tidied up the house, prayed over our living room, and got the Decaf coffee and all the plates and cups out, ready to welcome all our guests. Then I got a phone call from a woman who said that she and her husband couldn't come. A few minutes another call came in -- one more cancellation. I was a bit discouraged, but still felt it was the right thing to do for a remnant of our small group to meet.

Five of us spent about two and a half hours together, sharing and praying. One of our main purposes of meeting was to pray for our dear friends, and former small group members, Brian and Alyson Thrift. They've moved to Michigan and yet stay in touch with us since they had grown very close to our group. Aly is a mother of a one-year old and has battling cancer. Last night we went around the circle praying God's word over Aly, and for Brian's strength, pleading with the Lord to grant her healing and to give the entire family peace.

After the prayer we called her on my cell phone, passing the phone around to all five of us as we told her we loved her and will especially pray for her as she has surgery April 4 (please join us in praying for Aly). Then Lynette Bridges led this beautiful prayer over the phone for our dear friend in Michigan. It was a rich, Spirit-filled moment as the Lord used us to minister long-distance to our sister, Aly.

The last hour of our meeting, we shared some of our own prayer concerns. Then Lynette has us do the coolest thing (she is so creative). She got us to stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, and asked us to briefly pray for the person on the left. After each prayer she gave us an exercise related to our prayer request. For one of us who said they were "bumbed out" about their extended family, Lynette asked him to literally shake his body and thus shake off this negative feeling. For another she suggested that she write a note to her son this week.

We were a small band last night. And yet we sensed the Lord Jesus in our midst, using us to minister His grace, love and power to one another...and especially to Brian and Alyson.

Jesus' words came to life last night -- that where two or three are gathered in His Name, there He is in our midst. The next time you find yourself in a group or class where only a few show up, remember that if you call on Jesus' Name, His Spirit will show up and do great things for His glory, even among the few. I saw it happen again last night. The Lord is so good.

Jim